Category: gadgets

Here’s a holiday review of the Arduino Uno, and a basic guide to buying and using one. Building things is satisfying. It just feels great to turn on a device you’ve designed and assembled yourself, and watch it work. If you’re looking to give someone that type of satisfaction as a holiday gift this year, you might want to consider getting your special someone an Arduino...

So you forgot to get your resident nerd a holiday gift. No big deal. I’ll make sure that your favorite nerd is satisfied. Trust in my giftpicking expertise, and your nerdy husband, wife, child, mother or father will be very happy. The Best News For Gift Procrastinators Until this Wednesday (the 18th), you can still have any gift shipped to your door by Christmastime,...

Google’s Chromecast has taught manufacturers a hard lesson: People aren’t yet ready to replace TV. They’re looking for a device to augment it, and they’re looking for a device that doesn’t cost them a fortune – I have to say that Google’s Chromecast does a fantastic job of this, although it has a few bugs to be worked out. Note: I apologize (or do...

NEST, famous for their smart thermostats (of which I have two) today unveiled a reimagined, web-enabled smoke alarm, and while it’s certainly cool-looking, it left me wondering, “What’s the point?” Why would anyone need a $130 smoke detector (link to where it’s sold)? Is it really worth it? And remember, this is coming from the guy with the health-tracking wristband, iPhone cleaning tie, and...

After months of rumors, weeks of leaks, and days of post-release anticipation, I finally got my hands on a gold iPhone 5S for testing. After testing this phone for around 30 minutes, putting it through its paces, I’m confident that I’ve made the right choice, and I’m really impressed. Design The golden iPhone has been quite controversial (remember this parody?), so I was quite...